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Photography 101: Film Speeds for the Beginner
Cameras have lots of little knobs, dials and meters. If you look long enough on a camera, you can find more ways to change how your photo look than you can count, and for most of us, more than we can process all at once. But did you know that one of the most important decisions you can make when taking pictures happens before you even load your film?
The speed of the film you use is one of the very few unalterable qualities of a photograph. There are lots of ways to play with aperture, focus and exposure. However, once film is in a camera, there is absolutely no way to change the way that film reacts to light. In every photograph you ever shoot with real film, you are adapting to the film speed. Film does not speed up or slow down to suit your needs, so it is important that you make the right call the next time you head out for a fresh roll.
ISO and You
Film speed measures how sensitive your film is to light. Low film speeds mean that the film is less sensitive and needs a longer exposure while high speeds are very sensitive and need shorter exposures. The film speed is referred to as ISO (International Standards Organization). Any film will have the ISO listed on the box. Some common speeds are 400, 800 and 1000 with 400 being the closest to "standard."
The ISO of your film affects every aspect of the way your camera works. Your light sensor (if you have one) has to be set correctly for the film youre using, your aperture will be more or less limited depending, and your shutter speed will likely have to decrease or increase to accommodate the film. Even digital cameras use a simulated (and adjustable) "film" speed that they base their calculations on.
Choosing the Right Speed
The ISO of the film determines what you're able to photograph and how. Because high-speed film (ISO 800 or above is a good general rule) requires less time to expose, you can shoot images with much higher shutter speeds than with a slower film. The result will be a photo with crystal clear action; fast film is great for taking sports or anything with movement. When you see a photograph of a basketball player suspended in midair, you can bet that image was shot on high-speed film. With a slower ISO, the player in the picture would likely be a big blur. Faster film also requires less light and can be very useful in an indoor situation where a flash is not appropriate.
Lower speed film captures more detail because it has more time to absorb light. It's important to keep the words "detail" and "blurry" separate- more "detail" in a picture is similar to a high definition TV having more "detail" than a regular television- more of what was originally there will be seen in a photo. The longer film can see a scene, the better the scene will be represented. Lower speed films are great for images like portraits where you want to show great depth of field.
Film Speed Experiments to Try
To get a good handle on how ISO works and what it does to your images, here are a couple of things to try out the next time youre planning a shooting day:
- Get rid of your flash (if you have one) and take some fast film into a low light environment
- Swing by a local high school, college, or little league game and try shooting (with permission) two rolls of film one very slow (ISO 100) and one very fast (ISO 1000) then have a look at how different the images turned out
Film speed is one of those great things to play with when youre pretty comfortable with your camera and youre looking for new ways to challenge your perceptions. Each speed has strengths and weaknesses, and its up to you to decide which one works for you. Now it's time to take some pictures you'll be proud to display in wall picture frames And don't forget that pictures make great gifts especially when given in pictures frames that complement the existing decor like natural wood picture frames and classic silver picture frames.
Could anyone tell me the names of these photographers?
I am looking for two photography books which I was told about last year at college but can't remember who they are by or what they are called!
One is by a photographer who took a couch around the world and photographed it in many different places.
The other is pictures of the photographer's mother dressed up as various people/things e.g. a table.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
I only know one.
The Red Couch: A Portrait of America (Hardcover)
by William Least Heat Moon (Author), Kevin Clarke (Author), Horst Wackerbarth (Author)
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They're, Their, There - Three Different Words.
Careful or you may wind up in my next novel.
Pax - C
Is Photography Over?: Day Two, Part One
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